Kirkland beats Molina by controversial disqualification

Junior middleweight James Kirkland defeated fellow contender Carlos Molina via 10th-round disqualification in the co-featured bout to the Erik Morales-Danny Garcia fight in Houston on Saturday. Molina’s cornerman briefly entered the ring following a late 10th-round knockdown scored by Kirkland, who looked sluggish during most of the HBO-televised bout and was behind on two of the official scorecards after 10 rounds.

Molina befuddled Kirkland with his awkward style and superior boxing for the majority of the first nine rounds of the bout in the eyes of most of the ringside media. However, Kirkland rocked Molina early in the 10th round and finally connected with a knockdown punch just before the bell. That’s when one of Molina’s cornermen briefly hopped in and out of the ring, forcing referee Jon Schorle to DQ Molina.

It was a very unpopular decision by the veteran referee from California. Kirkland didn’t like it either.

“I hate this decision,” Kirkland said. “I was coming on strong. I wanted to win fair and square. I take nothing away from Molina. I’ll give him a rematch.”

Molina (19-5-2, 6 KOs) wants a return bout as soon as possible.

“I was down at the end of the 10th but I was ready to go 12 rounds,” said the Chicagoan. “I was winning every round by counger punching and using defense.”